


We're Always Glad You Came

by Ononymous



Series: Undertale Anniversary Requests 2018 [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-15
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2019-07-12 12:51:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15995600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ononymous/pseuds/Ononymous
Summary: They didn't need a massive party to celebrate their freedom. They had each other. That was all that mattered. That and some of Grillby's excellent cooking.





	We're Always Glad You Came

"Aw c'mon, gimme ten more minutes!"

"..."

Grillby's answer was final. The fish glubbed in defeat, dismounted his intimately familiar seat by the bar, and waddled clumsily to the front door, catching up to his fowl companion who had known better than to argue.

"Geez," said Ronald, "you'd think with today being all about togetherness he'd want his regulars with him."

"I dunno, he did charge half price," said the fish fairly, "and I should probably clean up the tank before my in-laws come round. Algae is rough on them."

"I guess so. And I did promise the missus we'd do something with Raffy after school breaks up."

"Hey, you wanna bring him to the lake? You can meet the family."

"I already know your family, we lived next to each other in Snowdin. Although," he rubbed his dusy feet, "nice to wet the webs once in a while..."

The two friends continued the planned coalition as they passed the sign hung up in the front of Grillby's restaurant.

_BARRIER DAY: HALF PRICE ON ALL MEALS FROM LUNCH TIME!_

This was the reason Grillby needed the usual liquid lunch types out of the way. Nobody had planned it, but beyond a perfunctory speech or two and maybe some fireworks later, the way to celebrate the anniversary of the Barrier breaking quickly became a special meal with friends and family. Grillby had been a benefactor of this collective decision, and since then had decided to lean into it. But that meant a little more prep work than usual. With non-flammable elbow grease, he wiped where the fish had been sitting. There, all set. The restaurant was pristine. He took a moment to apply the same technique to his glasses, temporarily leaving his head devoid of facial features, then adjusted his collar. There was silence now, save the soft crackling as the occasional flame licked up in a bid for freedom. Any moment now.

Tinkle. "Hey there Grillby can I soft warm soda cheese fries mac and no sauce extra sauce on the rocks extra spicy double dressing watch my figure salad?"

He should have made that "Wait to be served" sign more noticible.

It took twenty minutes to contain the intrusion, find everyone seats and make sense of their orders. Fortunately the actual cooking was the shortest part, one that could be finished en route to the table, so he was able to make up for lost time. Not without the occasional hiccup.

"Excuse me, I said medium, this is medium rare."

His flames dimmed slightly, then he snached the offending steak and squeezed it tightly in his hands, the diner shuffling a little away from him just as he returned it.

"That's much better. Thanks, Grillby!"

"..."

The first wave which crashed down on him had receded, and a more regular rotation of customers began. Honestly it felt like a regular day now, albeit the moments he could snatch to himself were more scarce than usual.

Tinkle. "-COULD HAVE COME EARLIER HAD YOU TOLD ME! OH, HELLO GRILLBY!"

Two momentary folds behind Grillby's glasses simulated a squint as Papyrus' overpolished battle body announced his arrival, accompanied by two guests. Grillby's regular found his usual seat, accompanied by a figure trying to not appear so formless. How either had travelled to those seats from the front door was uncertain, especially since one had definitely been occupied. Papyrus took the other seat besides his brother with more conventional spacetime traversal.

"YOU WON'T BELIEVE SANS, GRILLBY! WELL, PERHAPS YOU WILL, YOU KNOW HIM WELL ENOUGH. ANYWAY, WE ALL KNOW HOW SPECIAL THE DAY IS, SO I RESOLVE NOT TO BE SO PUSHY REGARDING PUNCTUALITY, SO THERE'S NO PRESSURE. AFTER BREAKFAST I RETIRE TO MY ROOM TO DO SOME PUZZLE DESIGN, AND AT THE CRACK OF TWELVE TWENTY-SIX PRECISELY THERE'S A KNOCK. 'HEY PAP', HE SAYS, 'LET'S GO TO GRILLBY'S EARLY'. THE NERVE! EVEN WHEN THERE'S NO PLAN YOU CAN COUNT ON HIM RUINING IT. HONESTLY, NEXT TIME I'LL JUST-"

"the usual, grillbz."

Grillby's flames had been slowly swelling as Papyrus' tirade continued, eating into time he could be spending serving other customers. They lightly brushed the charred doorframe as he withdrew to the larder to retrieve the ingredients.

"YOU SAID YESTERDAY," continued Papyrus, "YOU DIDN'T WANT TO DO ANYTHING SPECIAL. IF YOU SAID YOU WANTED TO GO TO THE KING'S SPEECH THEN WE COULD HAVE EATEN SOONER."

"eh," shrugged Sans, "feelins come an' go, bro. best to go with the flow."

"I agree, Sans." The two skeletons looked to the third person at the bar. He was improving, it almost sounded like his voice emerged from his mouth that time. "Since my return I have fallen into a habit of rigid schedules. It is not healthy long term. To adapt to the unexpected is important."

"well said, 'dings."

"NOT 'WELL SAID', SANS. I MEAN YES, IT WAS WELL ENUNCIATED AND COHERENT, WINGDINGS, BUT SANS TAKES SUCH FLEXIBILITY TOO FAR. HE DOESN'T FLOW AS MUCH AS FLOP! SURELY YOU HAVE TO REACH FOR SOMETHING."

"True," said Gaster, "but tunnel vision at your goals can be just as damaging as no goals. A middle ground is required. Ah, thank you old friend."

Grillby had been looking at Gaster, head tilted slightly as if confused about the third plate he carried, before laying the plate containing his recently remembered Gaster's usual on the bar, doing the same more confidently with the others.

"mmm, smells great. you're on fire. literally." Grillby accepted the pun stoically. "when we come back after the speech i'm gonna order extra."

"YOU WANT TO EAT HERE TWICE IN ONE DAY? EATING OUT COSTS A LOT, SANS."

"that's what the half price offer is for, bro, don't get your _knuckles_ in a- huh, what's up grillb?"

Grillby was pointing to a small notice repeating the offer plastered in the front window, the small print the same size it was on the full poster. Limit one meal per customer.

"...dang. welp, i got _burned_."

"I can pay," offered Gaster, "the King was kind enough to offer backpay after my... extended absence."

"cool, thanks. that settles it, after grillby's, i'm goin' to grillby's. papyrus, you want anything?"

"CAN WE FINISH THIS MEAL BEFORE WE PONDER FURTHER GLUTTONY?"

"sure thing. an' i'm gonna start it off with a nice bottle of... where's the ketchup?"

A white hand unconnected to anything was grasped around it. Sans could make out the label through a hole. It drifted towards Gaster, and then returned to the bar, drained.

"Hmm. Interesting."

"good job, 'dings. trying new foods. gotta _hand_ it to ya."

"I was curious to see why you fuss so much about it."

"SO HOW WAS IT?"

"...Tangy, I believe. And there's an emotional response, I can't quite remember the name...?"

"IT LOOKS LIKE YOU DISLIKED IT."

"That's it!" Gaster's face literally rearranged into a smile. "Such a tangy, excessively sweet flavour! Who on earth would drink it undiluted?"

"heh. don't knock it 'til ya try it, doc."

"But I did, just now."

Ignoring the argument, for they were common among the groups, Grillby continued serving the steady stream of customers. About the time the trio at the bar settled their tab, Grillby served the first group with more than one human in it. In fact there was only a single monster, and an unexpected one.

"See guys? Told you I was good for the chinese last week."

"Well yeah, Jerry, but you still could have called us that it arrived, especially since we paid for it."

"Ugh, get off my case, Georgia! Oh, hey Grillby. These are my new friends. They're pretty cool I guess. I'll take a well done steak with ketchup. Guys, what do you want?"

None of the humans were particularly adventurous with their orders, though Mike was generous with applying MTT™ Glamdiment on his burger. The group ate heartily while Grillby attended the small cache of steaks the Snowdin Royal guards had ordered. The rhythmic thump of wagging tails confirming their satisfaction, he returned to Jerry's group just in time to see them finished. He started scribbling what they owed, but a noodly and slightly damp arm stopped him.

"Hey Grillby. Remember when Fuku wanted those new shoes and I called a favour from Flopsy to get the Royal Guard surplus? I'm calling that in.

"..."

Something about Grillby's silence made the humans shuffle away from him, intimidated, but he crumpled the bill into a ball and it burnt to ashes, before moving on to the next table.

"There." Jerry's smug look was expertly crafted. "How's a free meal to make up for it?"

"But," said Nigel, "wasn't it already half price? Couldn't you wait until tomorrow?"

"...crap. Hey, Grillby!"

"..."

"Okay, not poking that beehive. So anyway..."

The flow of customers began to pick up pace as earlier plans to celebrate the day had concluded. For the first time since his surface premises was up and running, Grillby had to enforce a maximum of sixty minutes per group to prevent them from lingering. Jerry's group was the only real victim of this as he'd been busy showing off his human neighbours to the few who couldn't weave out of his range. There were more families now, the traditional half-day at school freeing them up to spend time together.

"But Dad," said Monsterkid, "why can't we order the wings?"

His father adjusted his scaly posture to free his tail, pointing it at him in accusation. "Because every time we do, you grab it without napkins even when we tell you not to, and then you only eat one before complaining it's too spicy, and then you have a burning feeling on your tail where you held it for hours."

"But it smells so good!"

"Dear," said his mother, jagged teeth on display in a pleading smile, "it's a special day after all. Go ahead, and I'll make sure he shows proper table manners."

The man of the house knew he'd regret both outcomes, so opted for lesser resistance. "Alright sweetie. You can deal with when he gets bored with the napkins."

"Yo, Mom, you're the coolest!"

"I want wings too!" yelled the smallest monster at the table.

"Huh? Sis, you said you hated them."

"That was last month, I like them now!"

"One portion. You can share." Negotiating with his children twice was beyond reasonable expectations, so he was mandating terms. "And your mother's on de-spicing duty."

An equilibrium was establishing itself through the restaurant now. It was so crowded it was difficult to make out exact words, but the tone could not be more apparent. It wasn't excitement as one might thing, but mere contentment. No worries in this moment, past or future. Everyone was living for the now, whatever else might come. And what was coming would eventually tilt the tone to excitement.

"Should be done by now," muttered Snowdrake to his father, "I heard they were coming round here afterwards."

"Heah? Doesn't sound right ta me, Snowy, I figured they'd be somewheah private. Then again he nevah stayed shut up during Gyftmas..."

The subject of their debate settled the matter. Everyone knew this instance of the door opening was important, and silence followed up the sound as very little light from outside spilled into the room. Then the blockage carefully made its way inside, accompanied by several others of varying sizes. The silence was broken by polite applause at the arrival of the Royal Family, but it didn't last long as Asgore's face became apparent. A thousand yard stare atop a beard looking like an overgrown thicket.

"Come on, ya big goof, it wasn't that bad!" barked Undyne.

"No it wasn't," acknowledged Gerson, shuffling into a booth, "but it sure was funny as hell! Wa ha ha!"

"B-but Gerson," said Alphys, joining him and her girlfriend, "if he r-really offended them, then it m-might-"

"Eh, relax Missy. This ain't the first verbal rodeo he's been tossed from the bull in!"

"yeah," said Sans, now suddenly sitting besides Gerson, "should grabbed it by-"

"The _horns_?" called Toriel. She burst out laughing a second later.

"pffft. way funnier than what i was gonna say." Two more people filled up the booth.

"Hey there, 'dings!"

"Gerson."

"I cannot believe..." lamented Asgore. "Of all the times to become nervous and stutter, it had to be on the word 'rebut'."

"Oh, you have said sillier things in public." The unsympathetic tone of Toriel's voice sounded forced. "Besides, I think laughter is more important than mere inspiration. That should be more than enough."

Asgore looked thoughtful. "I suppose so, Toriel."

Grillby silently watched the Dreemurrs slide into the extra large booth he had kept empty for them. As may have been expected from their current situation, Asgore and Toriel did not sit next to each other. That said, there was something about how they took opposite ends of the table that felt excessive, like they were announcing too loudly that they weren't together. In any case their children sat between them, and it was soon clear Asgore was not the only one to be missing the spirits of the day.

"Asriel child, are you sure you shall be fine?"

"I'm okay," he scowled, "I'm just having a... a 'him' day. I can't help when they come up." Then he muttered something under his breath.

"I understand," said Asgore patiently, finding resolve from his son's troubled shoulders. He gestured Grillby over for a hushed conference. "Howdy. I know it's been, um, a long time, but could you prepare my son's favourite? Put a little oomf in it?" Grillby nodded. "Good man. Now then," he called, "orders! I shall not, ah, rebut any requests today!"

Asriel remained withdrawn, but his family had learned not to glare at him constantly. This too would pass. His spirits were lifted a little when a double chargrilled burger with crispy snails was passed along his way, but he kept a grumpy air almost out of spite. Meanwhile, his human siblings were engaged in a desperate struggle of will.

"You... think..." gasped Chara, "you can just... waltz in and... prove you're better? Just... give up."

"No," said Frisk, "I... refuse."

"Fine. One more round..."

Their teary eyes were locked, almost unblinking. Sweat beaded on their foreheads. They both knew this would decide their fates. Knowing this filled them with determination.

They each grabbed another wing and scarfed it down.

"..."

"..."

"..." observed Grillby.

Finally Chara spluttered, lunged for the glass of milk besides Asgore and drank it in one go. Frisk accepted victory stoically, waiting until Chara had finished drinking to ensure no doubt before hurriedly seizing their own. Asriel's chuckle had a little more schadenfreude than he intended, and forced himself to stop, still wrangling with his baser impulses.

"Honestly, children," said Toriel, "of all the things to be caught up about."

"Oh, I don't know, Tori- um, Toriel. I suppose it's preferable to deal with this instead of encountering something more serious and having to improvise rapidly." His fangs were uncovered by his wide smile.

"It is ' _wing it_ ', Asgore," sniffed Toriel. "Honestly, if you are to tell a joke, make sure you are prepared."

"B-but-but-but-but-"

That did the trick. Toriel burst into a new round of giggles, accompanied by her son. Even with the pain of a similar error an hour before, Asgore joined it, ignoring how Grillby was watching how they looked at each other. Meanwhile, at the Drake family booth next door, a conspiracy was brewing.

"Yo, Doc," whispered Monsterkid, "you, uh, got any ointment for irritated scales?"

"Can't say that I have any with me, young man," shrugged Doctor Drake, "what's the problem?"

"Dangit, there's this stingy patch on my tail, and I don't wanna tell my parents-"

"Oh?" said Toriel, ears proving as astute as ever. "Come over here, child, I can help."

He obeyed. She touched the affected area, flooding it with a warm comforting feeling that quickly faded, leaving the irritation gone.

"Awesome, thanks dude! Now my Dad doesn't have to say he told me so about those wings."

"I don't understand why you keep eating them," said Chara cooly, "your tolerance hasn't budged in a year."

"They're so good, though!"

"You mean these?" asked Toriel, indicating the remnants of Frisk and Chara's battle. At Monsterkid's nod, she covered a hand in a napkin, took one of the few uneaten wings and deftly stripped it to the bone with her mouth, chewing gracefully.

"Hmm. A touch greasy for my tastes, but as well prepared as anything Grillby does."

She dabbed her mouth lightly to clear away lingering sauce, completely unperturbed by the high-yield ordnance she'd eaten.

"...that's not fair, dude."

Asriel giggled more light-heartedly as he took another wing and copied his mother, equally unaffected. The 'him' day was passing. Taking the royal dishes away, Grillby passed by the sushi-laden table of the Captain of the Royal Guard.

"Dif 'uffs gred!" Undyne swallowed. "This stuff's great!"

"ABSOLUTELY! ONE DOES NOT NEED TWO BURGERS A DAY. SANS."

"eh, can't _wrap_ my head round why you'd eat a buncha rice in seaweed."

"There was supposed to be fish in the middle," echoed Gaster.

"well yeah, but i didn't wanna be of _fin_ sive to my fellow diner."

"Taw muh?" She swallowed again. "To me? Fish ain't monsters, Sans. That's like worrying about eating beef in front of humans."

"oh well. 's the thought that counts. and it ain't my deal."

"Do not knock it before you try it, Sans."

"but i did, just-" He caught himself. "heh. good one, doc."

"Hey, where's that shiny feller?" asked Gerson. "Dances a lot."

"Oh, M-Mettaton? Well Grillby doesn't make g-ghost food, I think he and Napstablook a-ate earlier. Then they're in charge of the f-fireworks."

"Izzat right?" Gerson stroked his wispy beard. "Figured a young philhominid like that'd be eager to try human food. I can't truck with it anymore, gives me crazy eye."

"Oh, he d-did, it's just..." Alphys shuddered. "It g-gunked up his system. I never d-designed him to handle food th-that doesn't disappear."

"so yer tellin' us he was full of-"

"So!" filibustered Alphys just in time. "Is M-Muffet coming round?"

"Pshaw," laughed Gerson, "that lady ain't goin' anywhere on a day like this. Saw the sign at her bakery, ' _Twenty Four Donuts for the price of Twenty Three_ '."

"What." Undyne's eye narrowed. "What kind of tight fisted discount is that? Who the hell would go out of their way to save a pittance?"

"I can tell ya they're born every minute," mused Gerson. "Ah well, was never a purple turtle myself, wa ha ha!"

With most obligations to work fulfilled, the restaurant was more crowded than ever. The Dreemurrs didn't linger after their meal, Asgore acutely aware of how much space they took up. The booth was then immediately filled up by the Snowbunnies, depleting Grillby's strategic salad reserves. As the evening progressed, the restaurant looked like it began to glow as darkness settled softly among the streets outside.

"We should go," said Gaster, "I promised Mettaton I would provide technical assistance for his pyrotechnics."

"REALLY? HOW THOUGHTFUL! HOW ARE YOU HELPING?"

"Well, he explained that randomness was a theme he wished to project, to underline the thermodynamic miracle that is our release from confinement, among other things. I just need to fine-tune the interplanar projector."

"Th-the what?" asked Alphys.

"Oh, it was a device I was pondering shortly before my absence. My hypothesis is among the many universes in all of reality, some are composed entirely of a single element. By using the projector to reach one, say one comprised of polonium or uranium, I can set up a geiger counter which is rigged to the control panel for his fireworks, so when they decay unpredictably-"

"D-d-d-d-doctor!"

"...oh. Overthinking again?"

"Yes! A c-c-computer program running an RNG should cover it without nearly as much radiation!"

Gaster's face looked both the same and rather different. "Hmm. I suppose. But RNG sequences are so predictable."

"Feh!" said Gerson. "New-fangled delegatin' the boom button to someone else. Just use yer gut about when to push the buttons."

"But the inherent biases of cognition preclude a truly spontaneous course of events."

"AND WE DON'T THINK RANDOMLY, EITHER."

"P-precisely, P-Papyrus."

Undyne shook her head. "Now you're all overthinking it! No script, Doc! Not even an unpredictable one! Ain't like anybody else will read your mind, it's random to them!"

"Thanks, kiddo."

Gaster's hands drummed the table, stroked his chin, and rested on his lap. "I suppose I can try it. Grillby, I must thank you for this second meal, it was detestable- oh, that wasn't the word- delectable."

"..."

"You're welcome."

The two groups, temporarily forged into one, carefully navigated out the front door on their way to wherever the fireworks were. That was the turning of the tide. New customers slowed to a crawl, booths started going empty, people could afford to take time with their meals again. With darkness truly set, Asgore returned one more time to politely announce the fireworks would be starting. Officially Grillby's was still open for another hour, but that announcement might as well have closed it by royal decree. No new customers came, the room slowly emptying like a punctured tire. It never lost its relaxed nature though.

Soon Grillby was alone again. Out the window he could see the fireworks going off. The mere existence of colours other than pink was a sign Mettaton was not the sole designer of the performance. Even with business effectively over for the day Grillby had made a killing. Some tweaks were needed, there always was, but he could do this again...

"Arf!"

Grillby turned around. A small white dog was standing at the front door.

"...oh. Hello."

Returning to the bar, Grillby retrieved a water bowl with something which wasn't water in it, and placed it before the dog, who lapped it up happily. Grillby returned to watching the firework display.

"Woof?"

"Yes. Very busy."

"Pant pant."

"Most of them. Yes, even those three."

"Bark!"

Grillby shrugged. "Why not? On today of all days."

A low whine.

"I don't see it that way. Only so many ways it can play out."

A light scratching sound as the dog dragged its paw along the floor.

"To them, today's about remembering it all. The good, the bad, what got them here. More people should do that."

"Arf?"

"I know. Been a hell of a ride. Let's see where they take it next."

"Bark bark!"

Finished its beverage, the dog leapt up into Grillby's warm hands, who positioned them so the two could continue to watch the explosion of colour light the night sky.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think, and happy anniversary!


End file.
